Nightmare

“You don’t understand.”

“Actually miss, I do.”

“No, you fucking don’t. Now get the fuck out of my way!”

Sofia watched as a petite brunette struggled to get passed two of the orderlies. She wasn’t easy to ignore, what with her passion filled voice and bright clothing. Sofia looked longingly at the gorgeous red halter-top, which lay over the girl’s lightly tanned skin. Red had always been her favorite color.

At last, the girl finally resisted, falling to her knees. Her hands covered her face as her shoulders began to shake. The orderlies accepted this resistance and stalked off, satisfied that they had broken her. However, for Sofia, it caused an opposite reaction. She couldn’t believe their nerve to handle this small girl in such a forceful way. It wasn’t like she was a bigger threat to anyone in here then each person was to his or her self.

Slowly, Sofia approached the girl, sinking to her own knees. She watched, patiently waiting out the girl’s wrenching sobs. At long last she spoke, “Honey, it’s okay.”

The brunette looked up, obviously startled that someone was with her. “It’s not okay. They never let me see him! They never let me fucking see him! And he’s never anywhere! I can’t find him.”

“Find who?”

“Zacky.”

It dawned on Sofia that this was the legendary Tiffany that Matt had told her about. She could easily see why Zacky was infatuated with her enough to dance mindlessly about each and every day, pretending he was holding her in his arms. She was long, brown hair that fell in carefully curled ringlets. Her skin was tanned and she was petite, but extremely curvy. Her lips were a perfect, natural shade of red and her deep brown eyes were wide and framed by long, black lashes. Sofia was envious. She’d always wanted to be the type of girl that was so naturally stunning that make-up was entirely unnecessary. This girl obviously had obviously never had that issue.

“You’re Tiffany,” she said slowly.

The girl looked up in recognition. “You’ve heard about me?”

“Of course,” Sofia nodded enthusiastically, giving the girl a small, encouraging smile as she stood and offered her hand to the girl. “Here, come with me.”

Glancing at the empty hallway, she grasped Tiffany’s thin wrist and yanked her into her own room, slamming the door shut behind them. Closed doors were a violation. They were supposed to be cracked at the least at all times but Sofia had never cared very much for rules.

“Who are you?” Tiffany looked intrigued, yet confused as she watched Sofia yank at the buttons that kept her jumpsuit together. “And what are you doing?”

“I’m Sofia. I’m a friend of Matt’s. It’s nice to meet you.” Sofia didn’t look up as she continued removing the jumpsuit and at last held it out to the girl. “And I’m helping you see Zacky. Here, take it.”

Tiffany looked beyond confused. “Excuse me?”

“Put it on,” Sofia looked towards the door, praying there wouldn’t be yet another irritating knock that came so frequently. “If you wear this, they’ll assume you’re a patient and leave you alone. Then you can find Zacky. He’s normally in the main lounge, if that helps. I’ve rarely seen him leave.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened but she took the jumpsuit nonetheless and began shedding her own clothes. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful but is there any special reason you’re helping me?”

“Because I like Zacky and want him to be happy, and from what I’ve heard from Matt, you make him incredibly happy.” Sofia smiled, conveniently leaving out Zacky’s resistance to see her in this place. Brian’s reaction to Jocelyn never failed to amaze her and she felt that Zacky deserved his own happiness, little as it may be in this madhouse.

The pure joy in Tiffany’s eyes made Sofia smile. “Thank you.” She gestured to the gorgeous red halter-top and jeans lying on Sofia’s bed. “Feel free to wear that. It’s the least I can do seeing as I took your clothes and you’re basically putting yourself on the chopping block for me.”

“It’s not a problem,” Sofia responded, picking up the jeans and sliding them on quickly. The feel of denim was comparable to silk and she resisted a blissful groan. She hadn’t realized how much she had taken such simple things for granted before she had been admitted. “You should go though. That way nobody will notice.” She reached for the red halter-top and pulled it on, noting that Tiffany’s clothes fit her nearly as well as her own used to. She felt the dull aching pain for her old life tugging at her heart. This wasn’t fair.

Tiffany yanked Sofia out of her thoughts as she threw her arms around the other girl, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you.” She gave the blonde a thumbs-up sign before slipping out the door to find Zacky.

Now faced with the dilemma of how to avoid being seen, Sofia paced the room nervously, keeping a watchful eye on the door. She was stuck in this room until Tiffany returned but she had to make certain that no orderly would catch a glimpse of color in the all-white room. Hiding under the bed was an option but she didn’t want to dirty Tiffany’s clothes. The best bet, she decided, would be to stand in the closet.

Opening the doors, she winced at the musty smell inside. Regardless, she stepped in and carefully shut the door behind her, sinking to the ground. She rested her arms upon her knees and patiently waited. It was dark inside the closet, and peaceful. Sofia could hardly hear anything that was occurring outside. She slowly felt herself begin to drift off. Sleep did not come easily to her in this place, and she couldn't remember the last time she had a good night's rest. Surely it wouldn't hurt if she took a small nap while waiting for Tiffany to return. And her hiding spot was a good one, possibly too good at that. Sofia was soon fast asleep, locked in a box that silenced all sound. That's why she didn't hear the screams.